The call for sessions, papers and posters is now open. We welcome sessions and papers focusing on all areas of geography. The theme for the Chair's plenaries is Borders, bordering and borderlands.
We encourage all those who submitted proposals for the postponed 2020 conference to resubmit these for 2021, bearing in mind our new guidance for participation (see below). We also welcome new submissions for the programme. The online portal for submissions is now open.
The deadline for all submissions will be Friday 12 March 2021 at 23.59 GMT. Guidance for prospective presenters is available here.
If you have any questions, please contact ac2021@rgs.org. Please also see our Frequently Asked Questions guide.
There is more information below for prospective session organisers at the conference:
-
our code of conduct at the conference
-
how to submit your session proposal
-
key points to note
-
session scheduling
-
Research Group sponsorship
Conduct at the conference
Please see our updated code of conduct policy for more information.
How to submit your session proposal
Complete the session expression of interest form, available here.
-
Please complete this by Friday 5 March at very latest so that we can issue a session code in plenty of time for you to submit your full session details. We expect to provide these within two working days.
-
This asks for the session details only – you do not need to include details of any papers here.
-
If you are seeking additional contributions, you can include instructions for prospective authors.
-
Session details will be published on the conference website, along with instructions for authors where relevant.
We will then contact you with a session code and additional instructions for using the online portal to submit final details of your session. It is important that only session convenors upload their session details – please do not ask individual paper authors to do this.
You will be asked to select whether you would like your session to be in-person or online. In 2021, we will be unable to facilitate ‘hybrid’ sessions (i.e. remote presenters cannot take part in an in-person session). Should it become impossible to hold in-person sessions, all sessions will be offered the opportunity to change to online-only, or to withdraw at that stage. We will make a decision on this by May 2021, and will contact all delegates ahead of making such a change.
Complete the session expression of interest form
Key points to note
-
Sessions will be limited to TWO timeslots in the programme. A timeslot is 1 hour 40 minutes.
-
Sessions may take the form of presented papers, panels, practitioner forums, discussions, workshops, or something else. Innovative sessions and formats are encouraged, particularly for online sessions which make use of uploading 'on-demand' content in advance of sessions to be viewed ahead of time.
-
Please remind contributors of the limits on individual contributions when accepting abstracts/contributions for your session.
-
Session organisers should ensure that they have sufficient confirmed contributors to allow the session to go ahead if one or two withdraw. For paper sessions, we will consider those with four papers provided there are contingencies for replacing papers should any of the papers be withdrawn. For sessions with fewer than five papers, all presenters must register by the early-bird registration deadline (Friday 18 June 2021) so that the session can be confirmed as going ahead for the programme.
-
Sessions do not need to be sponsored by a Society Research Group in order to appear in the programme, but session organisers may wish to seek the sponsorship of one of the Society's Research Groups for their session.
-
Session organisers are responsible for ensuring that their contributors register to attend the conference by the early bird deadline of Friday 18 June 2021. More information about registration is available here.
-
All sessions will be reviewed by the AC2021 Conference Planning Committee before being accepted for the conference.
-
Successful proposals, including the names and affiliations of session contributors, will be made public via the Society’s website and will be kept on record as part of the Society's historical archive.
-
Publishers or others proposing a plenary lecture or other high-profile event for the conference programme are encouraged to contact the conference organisers (ac2021@rgs.org) as soon as possible to discuss this.
-
The RGS-IBG Postgraduate Forum have put together guidance for first-time session organisers, which you can read here.
Session scheduling
Every effort is made to prevent timetable clashes for individuals in the conference programme and to minimise clashes for sessions sponsored by the same Research Group, or on a similar topic. In some cases, clashes cannot be avoided. All conference participants are asked to check the provisional programme carefully and advise the organisers of any potential problems, and to then also check the final programme for any changes.
Session organisers are asked to be as flexible as possible about scheduling arrangements, and to advise the conference organisers as early as possible about potential conflicts or challenges and special requirements (including AV/IT and room setups) that may affect the timetable.
Proposed session timings for AC2021 will be confirmed shortly.
Arranging session sponsorship by RGS-IBG Research Groups
Sessions do not need to be sponsored by a Society Research Group in order to appear in the programme, but session organisers may wish to seek the sponsorship of one of the Society's Research Groups for their session.
Sponsorship normally consists of branding the session in the conference programme with the Research Group's name, and the opportunity to promote the session through the Research Groups communication networks. It does not usually cover the cost of speaker/presenter attendance unless specifically agreed with the Research Group.
Opportunities for sponsorship by Research Groups are limited and may be on a competitive basis. Each Research Group will manage its own sponsorship process; please see the list of Research Group calls for session proposals below. Session organisers should normally apply only to ONE Research Group for sponsorship. Session organisers who feel that their proposed session reflects the interests of one or more of the Society's Research Groups are encouraged to contact them directly. A list of groups and contact information is available here.
Advertised calls for session sponsorship
Each call for session proposals has its own deadline and process for submitting a session for sponsorship by that Research Group - more details available at each link below. Please read the call carefully and direct questions to the Research Group in question. This list of calls is not complete - please check back regularly for updates.